prehenfions of a change, declaring, in a manner as infolent as indecent, but that should indeed give us a leffon, if we had ears to hear, that their courts would confider the reinstating of Mr. P as little short of a declaration off war, and would prepare themselves accordingly.”

Lord T. and Mr. P. are profeffedly, our author's heroes. They would not accept of places because the invifible agency. continued. The present ministry did; ergo, the present ministry. are the tools of the favourite, and liable, like the last, to be turned out by him upon the least offence given. The whole of this compofition (which is artfully enough put together) would be tolerable, had the author even attempted to bring into it thatingredient fo neceffary for conviction, we mean the fmalleft proof or evidence of the favourite's agency, either visible or invifible. Being deftitute of that, the bubble must burst, and be refolved into the other political lies of paft days, which are now no where to be found.

16. The Political Apology; or, Candid Reafons for not taking Part with the prefent public Syftem; in a Letter from a Man who never had a Place, to a Right Honourable Gentleman, who has lately accepted of an High Office. 8vo. Pr. Is. Wilkie.

This performance is addreffed to a right honourable gentleman who has lately entered upon a high office, but (so far as we can form a judgment) not upon the exercise of it. It proceeds upon the very fame principles of invifibility, upon which we animadverted in our last article. The right honourable gentleman is taxed with inconfiftency in entering into the adminiftration; and after taking a thing for granted that ought to be proved, he roundly concludes, that we are to expect nothing but ruin, perdition, and thaneship from the present administration. The author writes in the ftyle of a parliament man, who is a kind of political tutor to the right honourable gentleman whom he attacks. Our general obfervation upon Tuch temporary productions may be comprifed in a homely proverb, that The proof of the pudding is in the eating.'

17. Confiderations on Behalf of the Colanifts. In a Letter to a noble Lord. 8vo. Pr. 15. Almon.

We have in a former number (fee, vol. xix. pag. 149), taken notice of the little pamphlet to which this performance is intended as a reply, as well as to the authors of two other pub

lications

lications concerning the regulations and adminiftration of our colonies (see vol. xvii. pag. 281, and vol. xix. pag. 66.) If the pamphlet before us be written by an American, he must be of the Cherokee or Esquimaux extraction, one who has learned as much English as enables him to fcold, but never can acquire as much understanding as can ferve him to reafon. Without entering upon any de ence of the late ministry as to the welltiming or propriety of the ftamp-duty, which we have reafon to believe the prefent miniftry will not vindicate; we shall once for all obferve, that if this furious author was every day to redouble his railings, and multiply the diftreffes, inconveniencies, and hardships of his country, all he could fay would be nothing to the purpose, unless he could prove the negative of the fol-. lowing fimple propofition, that, The British colonifts in America are not bound by an act which was unanimously paffed by the British legiflature.

18. The Elbow Chair; a Rhapsody. 410. Pr. 15. Ed.

By the Reverend E. Cooper.
Newbery.

We cannot deny this author the merit of being a pleafing writer, though we can by no means think him a great poet. Even his title-page muft prepoflefs a liberal mind in his dif favour by the pompous difplay it exhibits of his other works. The reader may form fome judgment of his genuine merit from the following quotation:

'A cot there is among thofe uncouth rocks
(Which heave their fummit to the realms of day)
Where LABOUR dwells: behold the ruddy boy
(Fresh as the morn) that meets thee at the door,
And fhames, O Bath, the barren city dame
O'erwhelm'd with vapours, ficklied o'er with spleen,
Curfe on the fiend (for man he cannot be,
Nor bear the native image of his God)

Who grinds the poor, and from these healthy babes
Foreftals the daily pittance poor of bread.
How have I feen them playful oft, and young

In little mazes hardly trip the ground,

And bound in gamefome glee! alas how chang'd!
The clinging infant clafps his mother's knee

With eager importunity, and looks

That speak too plain, both HUNGER and DISTRESS,
A father's care, and mother's tenderness,
In tears of poverty and love o'erwhelm'd,
Serve but to aggravate the heart-felt woe,
And to complete the PICTURE OF DISTRESS.

At

At that fad hour, which fome true friend requir'd,
Then British GEORGE, the TITUS of mankind
(And may a Fav'rite ne'er difgrace his reign)
Reliev'd them pining from the arms of Death.'*

315

Pity it is that a man cannot content himself with being a tolerable poet, without rambling fifty miles out of his way to be an execrable politician. In the name of common fenfe, what bufinefs has the line within the crotchets, in this passage? Towards the end of his poem, Mr. Cooper pays a compliment to the late Mr. Churchill; but moft unhappily prefents us with a very ridiculous picture, which the Spectator, long ago, drew, of a pen with fome ends of whipcord depending from its nib, to express the fcourge of fatire. Addreffing himself to the manes of Churchill, he fays,

The age

is wicked, and the back of Vice Deferves thofe lafhes that thy pen cou'd give.'

In a few lines farther, our author talks of often reproaching Mr. Churchill's cold afhes. Thefe inaccuracies may be pardoned in a great genius, but fuch a poet as our author has no right to prefent himself in a flovenly drefs before the public.

19. The Addrefs: a Fable. 4to. Pr. 6d. Nicoll.

This burlesque on a late celebrated addrefs (fee pag. 230) is by no means void of humour; but we cannot recommend the author as a Butler in the burlefque ftile.

20. An Efay on Luxury. Written originally in French, by Mr. Pintó. 8.00. Pr. 15. 6d. Becket.

Few writers, when they treat of luxury,, afcertain the idea of it in a proper manner. Some of them, under this expreffion, comprehend profufion and intemperance, and therefore declaim against it as inconfiftent with the maxims of Christianity and the welfare of fociety, Others, by luxury, mean coftly furniture, magnificent buildings, fplendid equipages, elegant entertainments, and other things of that nature, and agreeably to this notion, maintain, in oppofition to the first, that it promotes the circulation of money and the advantage of the community. On both fides there is truth; and each party would allow, were they mutually to explain the meaning of their expreflions, that they differ more in appearance than in reality.

The author of this Effay has made many lively and judicious remarks on Luxury, though he fometimes does not ascertain the

* Referring to the act for importing beef, &c. from Ireland.

mean

meaning of his terms with due precision. Luxury, he observes, is contrary or favourable to the enrichment of nations, according as it confumes more or less of the produce of their foil and of their industry, or as it confumes more or less of the produce of the foil of foreign countries; and it ought to have a greater or a lefs number of objects, according as thefe nations have more or lefs wealth. With fuch an extenfive commerce as now prevails, with fo universal a spirit of industry, with such a multitude of arts brought to perfection, it would be a vain scheme to think of bringing Europe back to her ancient fimplicity, which would be only bringing her back to weakness and to barbarifm. The only point fhould be to give Luxury a proper direction, and then it would contribute to the grandeur of nations and the happiness of mankind.

21. Daphne and Amintor. A Comic Opera, in one A&t, as it is performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-lane. 8vo. Price 15. Newbery.

As we own ourselves to be fo unpolite as not to have been prefent at the reprefentation of this opera, we are deficient in two-thirds of the requifites for reviewing it; we mean, hearing and feeing. The public has already been acquainted with the letter-prefs part of it through Mrs. Cibber's Oracle, only a magician is here introduced instead of a fairy. Some songs are added, which, we make no doubt, are well executed, and have a proper effect.

22. The Merry Midnight Miftake, or Comfortable Conclufion. A new Comedy. By David Ogborne. 8vo. Pr. 15.

Dicitur in plauftris vexiffe poemata Thefpis;

which, in English, is, that Thefpis is faid to have carried his plays in a waggon. But had this Play been one of them, its dulness and heavinefs muft have broken the carriage down, had it been as ftrong as any waggon now in England.

23. The Art of Riding; or, Horsemanship made easy. Exemplified by Rules drawn from Nature and Experience. By J. L. Jackion, Efq; 1.2mo. Pr. 1. Cooke.

This pamphlet is frontispieced with the figure of a poking English race horfe in a riding-houfe, which is the only new matter we can difcover in it;, the plan being evidently borrowed from a little pamphlet printed fome time ago for Robfon of Bond-ftreet, and well received by the public, to whom we recommended it (fee vol, xiv. p. 154.),

The Laws against Ingroffing, Forestalling, Regrating, and Mynopolizing. Containing all the Statutes and adjudged Cafes eoncerning them, &c. By Stephen Browne, Efq; formerly Judge of bis Majefty's Court of Admiralty, and one of the Fuftices of the Grand Court in Jamaica. 8vo. Pr. 2s. 6d. Withy.

We do not pretend to review this pamphlet, nor indeed is it reviewable; only we think it proper our reader should know that fuch a publication is extant. It contains a very clear and accurate digeft of the laws against the offences contained in the title-page, which, we are forry to fay, are now become fo common as to make fuch a publication expedient, if not neceffary.

25. Reports of Cafes argued and adjudged in the Court of King's Bench, in the feventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth Years of his late Majesty King George the Second; during which Time the Right Honourable the Earl of Hardwicke was Lord Chief-Juftice of England. Folio. Pr. 2s. 6d. Flexney.

We juft mention this publication, because we think all our fellow-fubjects ought to have an interest in every work to which the name of fo great, fo difinterefted a lawyer as lord Hardwicke was, is préfixed.

26. A Letter to Mr. Philips. Containing föme Observations on his Hiftory of the Life of Reginald Pole. By Richard Tillard, M. A. 8vo. Pr. Is.

Horsfield.

This author, after a few flourishes upon the infidelity and degeneracy of the age we live in, attacks Mr. Philips for fayting, "That the whole Chriftian world beheld, in the decifions of the council of Trent, a most compleat and accurate rule of 'faith and difcipline, which error and licentioufnefs had endeayoured to overthrow." Our author endeavours to demolish this pofition, by examining the canons of the council. He next attacks the pope's fupremacy, and vindicates Anne Boleyn; after which he proceeds to the other common topics, fome of which we have taken notice of in Mr. Ridley's article. But the whole is a tame fuperficial performance; and fome of the aufthorities he makes ufe of in the hiftory of England are defpi(cable. Even Mr. Huthe ought not to be quoted, when the originals from which he writes are almost as acceffible as his history.